2010 Dodge Power Wagon: An AW Flash Drive

April 1, 2010

Share

Facebook

Tweet

Pinterest

Email

What is it?

Technically, the Power Wagon is an option package on the Dodge Ram Heavy Duty Crew Cab 2500. But there's much more to it than that. The first Power Wagon was built in WWII and dubbed the M37. After the war Dodge made them available to civilians. Lucky civilians. In recent years, however, the Power Wagon lost power. Last year, with almost no marketing behind it, Dodge sold only 1,000 of them. It wasn't even pictured on the Web site. But with the remake of the Heavy Duty truck line, Dodge has opted to revitalize this iconic hauler.

While the Power Wagon can do the same towing and hauling work as the standard Ram 2500 Heavy Duty pickup, engineers made sure it could do that work far from pavement with the most agile 4x4 drivetrain available on a full-sized truck. The 383-hp, 400-lb-ft 5.7-liter Hemi drives all four wheels through a five-speed automatic, with a limited-slip differential at the rear and electronically locking axles front and back. A 12,000-pound capacity Warn winch is standard. For greater comfort on rocky roads there is even an electronically disconnecting front stabilizer bar, a feature lifted from the Wrangler Rubicon.

What's it like to drive?

We didn't get a chance to do any towing or hauling with it, so we'll have to go with the Ram 2500's spec sheet that lists payload capacity at 3,160 pounds and towing capacity at 13,450 pounds. All manufacturers claim that all other manufacturers lie about these things, but the Ram's figures are solidly in the ballpark of Chevy and Ford heavy duties, though a lot closer to Chevy's and farther from Ford's. We did, however, drive it on one of the best and most varied Jeep trails in Moab, the 7 Mile Rim Trail. The Rim Trail has a wide variety of terrain, from rocky dirt to deep sand to crawling over sandstone. By jamming the transfer case into 4H or 4L, the Power Wagon easily cleared all those obstacles. But it wasn't until we hit a surface feature named Wipe Out that we locked the front and rear axles. Wipe Out is a steep descent and equally steep creep back up a series of sandstone ledges. One Chrysler guy said it would be “like driving off the roof of a two-story building.” It wasn't that bad but it did focus our attention. Despite its long wheelbase, way longer than the Wranglers we saw leaving the scene as we arrived, the Power Wagons all made it down and up with focused ease. The better crawlers among us made it without any scrapes, but even the scrapes only dragged the plated and barred undercarriage harmlessly over the rocks. We left as new believers in not only the locking front and rear diffs, but in the whole Power Wagon enchilada.

Do I want it?

Owning one of these will greatly extend the amount of work and play you will be able to do. By allowing access to terrain way out in back of beyond you can get to places no one else can and haul along almost everything you're going to need once you get there. The Power Wagon option adds $6,000 to your Ram 2500's sticker. Depending on how they're speced out, Power Wagons will sell for around $45,000.

If you want a desert pre-runner made for high-tailing it over the Sonora to San Felipe, the Ford SVT Raptor may be your choice. But if you also want to crawl up ridiculously steep rocks, choose the Power Wagon.